HAIR | Beautiful, Luxurious, Ethical Pro Hair Care from O Way

When was the last time you used a hair care product that you knew was not only caring for your hair but the environment too? For me, it was this morning.

I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to come across a company who are as passionate about our planet and the environment as O Way and today I’m going to share with you my review of this new haircare line.

O Way are a brand new haircare range in the UK, having launched in February this year. They market themselves as a ‘beautiful, luxurious and ethical professional hair care, styling and colour’ range as their products have been created based on ‘green chemistry.’ This is the balance between the hair care range being as natural as possible and as high performing as possible.

O Way ‘believe that our planet deserves to be saved and respected’ and that their ‘customers deserve an exquisite range of hair care products.’ This is so refreshing for the beauty industry as I find that brands tend to be either one or the other, in that they are either really high performing but packed full of shed loads of chemicals either to be high performing or to skimp on costs, or they’re so natural that they don’t really tend to do much.

The O Way Shampoos and Conditioners are almost completely natural but when it came to creating some of the styling products, such as the hair spray, they did need to add some chemicals in order for it to give a great hold on the hair.

The ingredients included in O Way products are grown in their own area called an Ortofficina in the Bologna hills in Italy and then they 12 different types of medicinal plants that they grow are then distilled using the same process that would be used to distill whisky which I think is really unique; I hadn’t heard of this being down before. O Way even have a special certificate from the Italian government to promise that they’ll not use the equipment to produce alcohol!

Growing and distilling the ingredients in this way produces the purest essential oils that you can get and they’re entirely biodynamic. This means that they’re at an even higher level than organic oils and are very strictly monitored. There’s only one authority monitoring their production and no leniency so they have to get it right every time!

What I love about the O Way range is that absolutely everything is based on the essential oils that they product and no fragrance of any kind is added so you’re getting incredibly natural, authentic products. They don’t contain any thickeners, sulphates, parabens or petroleum products either and all except two of the products are vegan friendly which I know will please a lot of people as so many consumers are making the switch towards cruelty free products these days. The two products that aren’t vegan contain either honey or beeswax.

Over the last couple of months, I have been trying out three products from O Way and I’m seriously impressed with how well they perform while being ethical and natural. During this time, I’ve had both micro ring hair extensions in my hair as well as my own natural hair once the extensions were removed so I’ve had the chance to test the products out on both hair types. For reference, my actual hair is very oily at the roots and dry on the ends, it is colour treated and fine in texture, although I do have a lot of it.

O Way Colour Protection Hair Bath*

The shampoo that I have used over this time is the O Way Colour Protection Hair Bath which comes in this really simplistic but beautiful pump glass bottle. This not only makes dispensing just the right amount of product while in the shower easy but it also looks awesome on the shelf too. The design is very reminiscent of an apothecary bottle, not too unlike the beauty brand Aesop, and each of the three products that I have tried have that feeling about them too.

This product is designed to deeply clean highlighted and coloured hair, prolonging the colour vibrance and shine by protecting the hair from sun, water and pollution damage. It contains Biodynamic Red Grapevine which helps to keep the hair colour bright and feeling soft, Organic Goji Berries to revitalise the hair fibre, slow down hair ageing and protect it from oxidation and Kakadu Plum which has plenty of detoxifying, anti-ageing and energising properties.

I used it in the same way as I would any other shampoo and although it doesn’t lather up, presumably due to the absence of SLS within the formula. I love the scent of this shampoo as it reminds me of orange sherbet but most of all, I really like how it thoroughly cleans my hair without stripping it or drying it out but equally, it doesn’t make my roots get greasy any quicker than they usually do either.

O Way Moisturizing Hair Mask*

I tend to wash my hair every four days if I can help it, especially when I have hair extensions in, if I don’t have them in then I wash it every three days usually. I like to use treatments as often as possible but as a general rule, I’ll use a hair mask every other time that I wash my hair.

The one that I’ve been using from O Way is the Moisturizing Hair Mask which is absolutely fantastic at nourishing the ends of my hair and making them smooth. This is so important for me as with my hair being blonde and my hair being so dry on the ends, it does have a tendency to snap and give me split ends.

The O Way Moisturizing Hair Mask contains Biodynamic Hazel which softens and nourishes the hair, making the hair fibre soft and manageable, Organic Honey which soothes and nourishes the hair and adds shine and Ethical Murumuru which is rich in hair proteins. This ingredient helps to repair and deeply nourish hair that is dry, brittle and dull.

I only apply this mask to the mid lengths and ends as it is really softening on my hair and I think that it would be too nourishing on my super oily roots. The mask comes out as a creamy gel and it has a scent that reminds me SO much of aniseed, just like those Fireball sweets that you could buy as a kid. The scent doesn’t remain on the hair once you wash it out after 10 minutes but what does remain is the smoothing effect that the mask has on my hair and the soft feeling it gives.

O Way Nurturing Drops*

Another product that makes my hair feel so soft is the O Way Nurturing Drops which is a hair oil that comes in a glass bottle with a pipette that dispenses quite a lot of product. The great thing about this product is that it isn’t one of those serums that you can over do. I’ve applied lots of this in my hair before and yet it hasn’t made it greasy or oily feeling.

The O Way Nurturing Drops nourish and hydrate the ends of the hair which helps to seal any damage from split ends to make them appear smooth. It helps to protect the hair from heat sources and external agents which is why I apply it while my hair is wet for protection against the heat styling tools that I use and then after I have dried and straightened my hair to protect it from the elements and add shine.

I love the way that this makes my hair look and feel and it has fit right into my daily routine. It nourishes and seals the ends of my hair daily without weighing it down which is perfect for me.

I’m really impressed with the three products that I’ve tried from O Way and I would actually struggle to pick a favourite out of the three of them. Of course there are plenty more products available to try, the Sea Salt Spray in particular has really caught my eye!

The entire O Way range is available direct from their website here and in some exclusive salons. Since the UK launch, hair salons have really got on board with the O Way way, they just can’t get enough of it so I’m sure you’ll be able to pick it up in a salon near you soon!